Covers for the new “Hawkeye” series are sometimes arty, like this one from “Hawkeye No. 3.”

Marvel Entertainment
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Comic books: 'Hawkeye Vol. 1' hits the mark

Article by: ANDREW A. SMITH

Scripps Howard News Service

May 9, 2013 - 1:32 PM

No character benefited more from the success of the “Avengers” movie than Hawkeye, a B-list character currently enjoying A-list attention.

I don’t mean to be snarky, but let’s face it: A guy who shoots arrows isn’t very impressive on a team that features the Norse god of thunder. And his comic-book history is almost entirely with the Avengers — not because he’s really useful, but because he hasn’t had any success at all outside the team.

Hawkeye had an unimpressive start in 1964, a circus marksman with a complicated, garish, purple outfit who initially tried to be a superhero, but was suckered by a pretty face into attacking Iron Man a few times. And, duh, he lost every fight. I mean, c’mon, he brought a bow and armor to a repulsor-ray fight.

His big break came in 1965 when Stan Lee decided to populate the Avengers with characters who didn’t have their own books, because Lee was tired of keeping up with events in other books when he was writing “Avengers.” Hawkeye was tapped to join the team, and he’s been with them off and on ever since.

And it’s been in the pages of “Avengers” where the character has enjoyed what little development he’s had. For example, it was in a 1969 issue of “Avengers” that he was finally given the civilian name “Clint Barton.” He was such a minor character he didn’t even have a name for five years.

Which is not to say Marvel didn’t try to turn Hawkeye into a player. He’s headlined several series and miniseries over the years, sometimes teamed with other characters. But none has ever taken off. Until the “Avengers” movie, it seemed the Avenging Archer was destined to be a second banana forever.

But then the movie turned Hawkeye into a household name. So I figured it was only a matter of time until Barton got his own series, one where he’d somehow transform into his movie counterpart. The archer did indeed receive his own eponymous series last year, and the first trade paperback from that series is already out. “Hawkeye Vol. 1: My Life as a Weapon” (Marvel, $16.99) collects the first five issues of the new “Hawkeye” and an older story from another series. And it really hits the mark. The new series depicts a Hawkeye who has ditched the ugly purple long johns in favor of togs that resemble the movie version: purplish leather/Kevlar and sunglasses. He also has the same haircut as Jeremy Renner, who played Hawkeye in “Avengers.”

But despite that bow to the movies, the comics version of Hawkeye hasn’t changed his personality much. He’s still irreverent, impulsive and an inveterate skirt-chaser, as opposed to the taciturn assassin we saw in “Avengers.” And that turns out to be a smart move, despite the comic-book Hawkeye having failed to find an audience for 50 years.

That’s because writer Matt Fraction has opted to focus on Barton’s time when he’s not Avenging. “Hawkeye” features Barton in civvies, applying his skills to pedestrian crises like lousy landlords and fetching damsels in (mild) distress. This approach probably wouldn’t work if written by someone more traditional than Fraction, whose charm rises largely from snappy, seemingly meandering dialogue and unconventional story structure that somehow works out in the end. His voice is perfect for Hawkeye.